Month: February 2020

Threatened Siege of Jerusalem

1 “Run for cover,Benjaminites,

out of Jerusalem!

Sound the ram’s hornin Tekoa;

raise a smoke signalover Beth-haccherem,

for disaster threatens from the north,

even great destruction.

2 Though she is beautiful and delicate,

I will destroyDaughter Zion.

3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her;

they will pitch their tents all around her.

Each will pasture his own portion.

4 Set them apart for waragainst her;

rise up, let’s attack at noon.

Woe to us, for the day is passing;

the evening shadows grow long.

5 Rise up, let’s attack by night.

Let us destroy her fortresses.”

6 For this is what theLordof Hosts says:

Cut down the trees;

raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem.

This city must be punished.

There is nothing but oppression within her.

7 As a well gushes out its water,

so she pours out her evil.

Violence and destructionresound in her.

Sickness and wounds keep coming to My attention.

8 Be warned, Jerusalem,

or I will turn away from you;

I will make you a desolation,

a land without inhabitants.

Wrath on Israel

9 This is what theLordof Hosts says:

Glean the remnant of Israel

as thoroughly as a vine.

Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer

over the branches.

10 Who can I speak to and give such a warning

that they will listen?

Look, their ear is uncircumcised,

so they cannot pay attention.

See, the word of theLordhas become contemptible to them —

they find no pleasure in it.

11 But I am full of theLord’s wrath;

I am tired of holding it back.

Pour it out on the children in the street,

on the gang of young men as well.

For both husband and wife will be captured,

the old with the very old.

12 Their houses will be turned over to others,

their fields and wives as well,

for I will stretch out My hand

against the inhabitants of the land.

This is theLord’s declaration.

13 For from the least to the greatest of them,

everyone is making profit dishonestly.

From prophet to priest,

everyone deals falsely.

14 They have treated My people’s brokenness superficially,

claiming, “Peace, peace,”

when there is no peace.

15 Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?

They weren’t at all ashamed.

They can no longer feel humiliation.

Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.

When I punish them, they will collapse,

says theLord.

Disaster because of Disobedience

16 This is what theLordsays:

Stand by the roadways and look.

Ask about the ancient paths:

Which is the way to what is good?

Then take it

and find rest for yourselves.

But they protested, “We won’t!”

17 I appointed watchmen over you

and said: Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.

But they protested, “We won’t listen!”

18 Therefore listen, you nations

and you witnesses,

learn what the charge is against them.

19 Listen, earth!

I am about to bring disaster on these people,

the fruit of their own plotting,

for they have paid no attention to My word.

They have rejected My instruction.

20 What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba

or sweet canefrom a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;

your sacrifices do not please Me.

21 Therefore, this is what theLordsays:

I am going to place stumbling blocks before these people;

fathers and sons together will stumble over them;

friends and neighbors will also perish.

A Cruel Nation from the North

22 This is what theLordsays:

Look, an army is coming from a northern land;

a great nation will be awakened

from the remote regions of the earth.

23 They grasp bow and javelin.

They are cruel and show no mercy.

Their voice roars like the sea,

and they ride on horses,

lined up like men in battle formation

against you, Daughter Zion.

24 We have heard about it,

and we are discouraged.

Distress has seized us —

pain like a woman inlabor.

25 Don’t go out to the fields;

don’t walk on the road.

For the enemy has a sword;

terror is on every side.

26 My dearpeople, dress yourselves in sackcloth

and roll in the dust.

Mourn as you would for an only son,

a bitter lament,

for suddenly the destroyerwill come on us.

Jeremiah Appointed as an Examiner

27 I have appointed you to be an assayer among My people —

a refiner—

so you may know and assay their way of life.

28 All are stubborn rebels

spreading slander.

They are bronze and iron;

all of them are corrupt.

29 The bellows blow,

blasting the lead with fire.

The refining is completely in vain;

the evil ones are not separated out.

30 They are called rejected silver,

for theLordhas rejected them.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/6-4549fae2353e059e4fda21d5533338d0.mp3?version_id=72—

False Trust in the Temple

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from theLord:

2 “Stand in the gate of the house of theLordand there call out this word: Hear the word of theLord, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship theLord.

3 “This is what theLordof Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your deeds,and I will allow you to live in this place.

4 Do not trust deceitful words, chanting: This is the temple of theLord, the temple of theLord, the temple of theLord.

5 Instead, if you really change your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another,

6 if you no longer oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widowand no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves,

7 I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestorslong ago and forever.

8 But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.

9 “Do you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known?

10 Then do you come and stand before Me in this housecalled by My name and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts’?

11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbersin your view? Yes, I too have seen it.”

This is theLord’s declaration.

Shiloh As a Warning

12 “But return to My place that was at Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at first.See what I did to it because of the evil of My people Israel.

13 Now, because you have done all these things” — this is theLord’s declaration — “and because I have spoken to you time and time againbut you wouldn’t listen,and I have called to you, but you wouldn’t answer,

14 what I did to Shiloh I will do to the house that is called by My name— the house in which you trust — the place that I gave you and your ancestors.

15 I will drive you from My presence, just as I drove out all of your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.

Do Not Pray for Judah

16 “As for you, do not pray for these people.Do not offer a cry or a prayer on their behalf, and do not beg Me,for I will not listen to you.

17 Don’t you see how they behave in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven,and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke Me to anger.

19 But are they really provoking Me? ”This is theLord’s declaration. “Isn’t it they themselves being provoked to disgrace? ”

20 Therefore, this is what the LordGodsays: “Look, My anger — My burning wrath — is about to be poured out on this place,on man and beast, on the tree of the field, and on the produce of the land. My wrath will burn and not be quenched.”

Obedience Over Sacrifice

21 This is what theLordof Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves,

22 for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with themor command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice.

23 However, I did give them this command: Obey Me, and then I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.

24 Yet they didn’t listen or pay attentionbut followed their own advice and according to their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.

25 Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent all My servants the prophetsto you time and time again.

26 However, they wouldn’t listen to Me or pay attention but became obstinate;they did more evil than their ancestors.

A Lament for Disobedient Judah

27 “When you speak all these things to them, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer you.

28 You must therefore declare to them: This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of theLordtheir God and would not accept discipline. Truthhas perished — it has disappeared from their mouths.

29 Cut off the hair of your sacred vowand throw it away. Raise up a dirge on the barren heights,for theLordhas rejected and abandoned the generation under His wrath.

30 “For the Judeans have done what is evil in My sight.” This is theLord’s declaration. “They have set up their detestable thingsin the house that is called by My name and defiled it.

31 They have built the high places of Tophethin the Valley of Hinnomin order to burn their sons and daughters in the fire,a thing I did not command; I never entertained the thought.

32 “Therefore, take note! Days are coming”— theLord’s declaration — “when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.Topheth will become a cemetery,because there will be no other burial place.

33 The corpses of these people will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land, with no one to scare them away.

34 I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and gladness and the voices of the groom and the bride,for the land will become a desolate waste.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/7-8522c31b00acba06cc2de08abfadebe5.mp3?version_id=72—

Death over Life

1 “At that time” — this is theLord’s declaration — “the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves.

2 They will be exposedto the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly host,which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the surface of the soil.

3 Death will be chosen over lifeby all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them.”This is the declaration of theLordof Hosts.

4 “You are to say to them: This is what theLordsays:

Do people fall and not get up again?

If they turn away, do they not return?

5 Why have these people turned away?

Why is Jerusalem always turning away?

They take hold of deceit;

they refuse to return.

6 I have paid careful attention.

They do not speak what is right.

No one regrets his evil,

asking, ‘What have I done?’

Everyone has stayed his course

like a horse rushing into battle.

7 Even the stork in the sky

knows her seasons.

The turtledove, swallow, and crane

are aware of their migration,

but My people do not know

the requirements of theLord.

Punishment for Judah’s Leaders

8 “How can you claim, ‘We are wise;

the law of theLordis with us’?

In fact, the lying pen of scribes

has produced falsehood.

9 The wise will be put to shame;

they will be dismayed and snared.

They have rejected the word of theLord,

so what wisdom do they really have?

10 Therefore, I will givetheir wives to other men,

their fields to new occupants,

for from the least to the greatest,

everyone is making profit dishonestly.

From prophet to priest,

everyone deals falsely.

11 They have treated superficially the brokenness

of My dearpeople,

claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’

when there is no peace.

12 Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?

They weren’t at all ashamed.

They can no longer feel humiliation.

Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.

When I punish them, they will collapse,”

says theLord.

13 I will gather them and bring them to an end.

This is theLord’s declaration.

There will be no grapes on the vine,

no figs on the fig tree,

and even the leaf will wither.

Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.

God’s People Unrepentant

14 Why are we just sitting here?

Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities

and perish there,

for theLordour God has destroyedus.

He has given us poisoned water to drink,

because we have sinned against theLord.

15 We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good;

for a time of healing, but there was only terror.

16 From Dan the snorting of horses is heard.

At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds,

the whole land quakes.

They come to devour the land and everything in it,

the city and all its residents.

17 Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you,

poisonous vipersthat cannot be charmed.

They will bite you.

This is theLord’s declaration.

Lament over Judah

18 My joy has flown away;

grief has settled on me.

My heart is sick.

19 Listen — the cry of my dearpeople

from a far away land,

“Is theLordno longer in Zion,

her King not within her? ”

Why have they provoked me to anger

with their carved images,

with their worthless foreign idols?

20 Harvest has passed, summer has ended,

but we have not been saved.

21 I am broken by the brokenness

of my dearpeople.

I mourn; horror has taken hold of me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead?

Is there no physician there?

So why has the healing of my dearpeople

not come about?

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/8-9eec657d0ae6605c64fbe4ea8be88e5e.mp3?version_id=72—

1 If my head were a spring of water,

my eyes a fountain of tears,

I would weep day and night

over the slain of my dearpeople.

2 If only I had a traveler’s lodging place

in the wilderness,

I would abandon my people

and depart from them,

for they are all adulterers,

a solemn assembly of treacherous people.

3 They bent their tongues like their bows;

lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land,

for they proceed from one evil to another,

and they do not take Me into account.

This is theLord’s declaration.

Imminent Ruin and Exile

4 Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.

Don’t trust any brother,

for every brother will certainly deceive,

and every friend spread slander.

5 Each one betrays his friend;

no one tells the truth.

They have taught their tongues to speak lies;

they wear themselves out doing wrong.

6 You live in a world of deception.

In their deception they refuse to know Me.

This is theLord’s declaration.

7 Therefore, this is what theLordof Hosts says:

I am about to refine them and test them,

for what else can I do

because of My dearpeople?

8 Their tongues are deadly arrows —

they speak deception.

With his mouth

a man speaks peaceably with his friend,

but inwardly he sets up an ambush.

9 Should I not punish them for these things?

This is theLord’s declaration.

Should I not avenge Myself

on such a nation as this?

10 I will raise weeping and a lament

over the mountains,

a dirge over the wilderness grazing land,

for they have been so scorched

that no one passes through.

The sound of cattle is no longer heard.

From the birds of the sky to the animals,

everything has fled — they have gone away.

11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble,

a jackals’ den.

I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,

an uninhabited place.

12 Who is the man wise enough to understand this?Who has theLordspoken to, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a wilderness, so no one can pass through?

13 TheLordsaid, “It is because they abandoned My instructionthat I set in front of them and did not obey My voice or walk according to it.

14 Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their heartsand followed after the Baals as their fathers taught them.”

15 Therefore, this is what theLordof Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to feed this people wormwoodand give them poisonous water to drink.

16 I will scatter them among the nationsthat they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”

Mourning over Judah

17 This is what theLordof Hosts says:

Consider, and summon the women who mourn;

send for the skillful women.

18 Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us

so that our eyes may overflow with tears,

our eyelids soaked with weeping.

19 For a sound of lamentation is heard from Zion:

How devastated we are.

We are greatly ashamed,

for we have abandoned the land;

our dwellings have been torn down.

20 Now hear the word of theLord, you women.

Pay attention tothe word of His mouth.

Teach your daughters a lament

and one another a dirge,

21 for Deathhas climbed through our windows;

it has entered our fortresses,

cutting off children from the streets,

young men from the squares.

22 Speak as follows:

This is what theLordsays:

Human corpses will fall

like manure on the surface of the field,

like newly cut grainafter the reaper

with no one to gather it.

Boast in the Lord

23 This is what theLordsays:

The wise man must not boast in his wisdom;

the strong man must not boast in his strength;

the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.

24 But the one who boasts should boast in this,

that he understands and knows Me—

that I am Yahweh, showing faithful love,

justice, and righteousness on the earth,

for I delight in these things.

This is theLord’s declaration.

25 “The days are coming” — theLord’s declaration — “when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised:

26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples.All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/9-bfe3a178df41fcdb79eb1a4afa5bf9b5.mp3?version_id=72—

False Gods Contrasted with the Creator

1 Hear the word that theLordhas spoken toyou, house of Israel.

2 This is what theLordsays:

Do not learn the way of the nations

or be terrified by signs in the heavens,

although the nations are terrified by them,

3 for the customs of the peoples are worthless.

Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;

it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.

4 He decorates it with silver and gold.

It is fastened with hammer and nails,

so it won’t totter.

5 Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,

their idols cannot speak.

They must be carriedbecause they cannot walk.

Do not fear them for they can do no harm—

and they cannot do any good.

6 Yahweh, there is no one like You.

You are great;

Your name is great in power.

7 Who should not fear You,

King of the nations?

It is what You deserve.

For among all the wise people of the nations

and among all their kingdoms,

there is no one like You.

8 They are both stupid and foolish,

instructed by worthless idols

made of wood!

9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,

and gold from Uphaz

from the hands of a goldsmith,

the work of a craftsman.

Their clothing is blue and purple,

all the work of skilled artisans.

10 But Yahweh is the true God;

He is the living Godand eternal King.

The earth quakes at His wrath,

and the nations cannot endure His rage.

11 You are to say this to them, “The gods that did not make the heavensand the earth will perish from the earthand from under these heavens.”

12 He made the earth by His power,

established the worldby His wisdom,

and spread out the heavens by His understanding.

13 When He thunders,

the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,

and He causes the clouds to rise

from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightning for the rain

and brings the wind from His storehouses.

14 Everyone is stupid and ignorant.

Every goldsmith is put to shame

by his carved image,

for his cast images are a lie;

there is no breath in them.

15 They are worthless, a work to be mocked.

At the time of their punishment

they will be destroyed.

16 Jacob’s Portionis not like these

because He is the One who formed all things.

Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;

Yahweh of Hosts is His name.

Exile After the Siege

17 Gather up your belongingsfrom the ground,

you who live under siege.

18 For this is what theLordsays:

Look, I am slinging out

the land’s residents at this time

and bringing them such distress

that they will feel it.

Jeremiah Grieves

19 Woe to me because of my brokenness —

I am severely wounded!

I exclaimed, “This is my intense suffering,

but I must bear it.”

20 My tent is destroyed;

all my tent cords are snapped.

My sons have departed from me and are no more.

I have no one to pitch my tent again

or to hang up my curtains.

21 For the shepherds are stupid:

they don’t seek theLord.

Therefore they have not prospered,

and their whole flock is scattered.

22 Listen! A noise — it is coming —

a great commotionfrom the land to the north.

The cities of Judah will be made desolate,

a jackals’ den.

23 I know,Lord,

that a man’s way of life is not his own;

no one who walks determines his own steps.

24 Discipline me,Lord, but with justice —

not in Your anger,

or You will reduce me to nothing.

25 Pour out Your wrath on the nations

that don’t recognize You

and on the families

that don’t call on Your name,

for they have consumed Jacob;

they have consumed him and finished him off

and made his homeland desolate.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/10-579f0858d336c46d1d1fe4a42c8a6c1d.mp3?version_id=72—

Reminder of the Covenant

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from theLord:

2 “Listen to the words of this covenantand tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.

3 You must tell them: This is what theLord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let a curse be on the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,

4 which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt,out of the iron furnace.’I declared: ‘Obey Me, and do everything that I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God,’

5 in order to establish the oath I swore to your ancestors,to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today.”

I answered, “Amen,Lord.”

6 TheLordsaid to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Obey the words of this covenant and carry them out.

7 For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again,‘Obey My voice.’

8 Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart.So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do.”

9 TheLordsaid to me, “A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judahand the residents of Jerusalem.

10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestorswho refused to obey My words and have followed other gods to worship them.The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke My covenant I made with their ancestors.

11 “Therefore, this is what theLordsays: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape.They will cry out to Me, but I will not hear them.

12 Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.

13 Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, Judah,and the altars you have set up to Shame— altars to burn incense to Baal — as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.

14 “As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf,for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster.

15 What right does My beloved have

to be in My house,

having carried out so many evil schemes?

Can holy meatprevent your disaster

so you can rejoice?

16 TheLordnamed you

a flourishing olive tree,

beautiful with well-formed fruit.

He has set fire to it,

and its branches are consumed

with a great roaring sound.

17 “TheLordof Hosts who planted youhas decreed disaster against you, because of the harm the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves, provoking Me to anger by burning incense to Baal.”

18 TheLordinformed me, so I knew.

Then You helped me to see their deeds,

19 for I was like a docilelamb led to slaughter.

I didn’t know that they had devised plots against me:

“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit;

let’s cut him off from the land of the living

so that his name will no longer be remembered.”

20 But,Lordof Hosts, who judges righteously,

who testsheartand mind,

let me see Your vengeance on them,

for I have presented my case to You.

21 Therefore, here is what theLordsays concerning the people of Anathothwho want to take your life. They warn, “You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh,or you will certainly die at our hand.”

22 Therefore, this is what theLordof Hosts says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine.

23 They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathothin the year of their punishment.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/11-5b2e80c5e6a2ee1e8b82d10d1d6b84b2.mp3?version_id=72—

Jeremiah’s Complaint

1 You will be righteous,Lord,

even if I bring a case against You.

Yet, I wish to contend with You:

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all the treacherous live at ease?

2 You planted them,and they have taken root.

They have grown and produced fruit.

You are ever on their lips,

but far from their conscience.

3 As for You,Lord, You know me; You see me.

You test whether my heart is with You.

Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter

and set them apart for the day of killing.

4 How long will the land mourn

and the grass of every field wither?

Because of the evil of its residents,

animals and birds have been swept away,

for the people have said,

“He cannot see what our end will be.”

The Lord’s Response

5 If you have raced with runners

and they have worn you out,

how can you compete with horses?

If you stumblein a peaceful land,

what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?

6 Even your brothers — your own father’s household —

even they were treacherous to you;

even they have cried out loudly after you.

Do not have confidence in them,

though they speak well of you.

7 I have abandoned My house;

I have deserted My inheritance.

I have given the love of My life

into the hands of her enemies.

8 My inheritance has acted toward Me

like a lion in the forest.

She has roared against Me.

Therefore, I hate her.

9 Is My inheritance like a hyenato Me?

Are birds of prey circling her?

Go, gather all the wild animals;

bring them to devour her.

10 Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard;

they have trampled My plot of land.

They have turned My desirable plot

into a desolate wasteland.

11 They have made it a desolation.

It mourns, desolate, before Me.

All the land is desolate,

but no one takes it to heart.

12 Over all the barren heights in the wilderness

the destroyers have come,

for theLordhas a sword that devours

from one end of the earth to the other.

No one has peace.

13 They have sown wheat but harvested thorns.

They have exhausted themselves but have no profit.

Be put to shame by your harvests

because of theLord’s burning anger.

14 This is what theLordsays: “Concerning all My evil neighbors who attack the inheritance that I bequeathed to My people, Israel, I am about to uproot themfrom their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from them.

15 After I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassionon them and return each one to his inheritance and to his land.

16 If they will diligently learn the ways of My people— to swear by My name, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ just as they taught My people to swear by Baal — they will be built up among My people.

17 However, if they will not obey, then I will uproot and destroy that nation.”

This is theLord’s declaration.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/12-99311fa8e30e60b12ac759c4886edf02.mp3?version_id=72—

Linen Underwear

1 This is what theLordsaid to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen undergarmentand put it on,but do not put it in water.”

2 So I bought underwear as theLordinstructed me and put it on.

3 Then the word of theLordcame to me a second time:

4 “Take the underwear that you bought and are wearing,and go at once to the Euphratesand hide it in a rocky crevice.”

5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as theLordcommanded me.

6 A long time later theLordsaid to me, “Go at once to the Euphrates and get the underwear that I commanded you to hide there.”

7 So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined — of no use at all.

8 Then the word of theLordcame to me:

9 “This is what theLordsays: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem.

10 These evil people, who refuse to listen to Me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts,and who have followed other gods to serve and worship — they will be like this underwear, of no use at all.

11 Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to Me”— this is theLord’s declaration — “so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory,but they would not obey.

The Wine Jars

12 “Say this to them: This is what theLord, the God of Israel, says: Every jar should be filled with wine. Then they will respond to you, ‘Don’t we know that every jar should be filled with wine?’

13 And you will say to them: This is what theLordsays: I am about to fill all who live in this land — the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the residents of Jerusalem — with drunkenness.

14 I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike” — this is theLord’s declaration. “I will allow no mercy, pity, or compassion to keep Me from destroying them.”

The Lord’s Warning

15 Listen and pay attention. Do not be proud,

for theLordhas spoken.

16 Give glory to theLordyour God

before He brings darkness,

before your feet stumble

on the mountains at dusk.

You wait for light,

but He brings darkest gloom

and makes thick darkness.

17 But if you will not listen,

my innermost being will weep in secret

because of your pride.

My eyes will overflow with tears,

for theLord’s flockhas been taken captive.

18 Say to the king and the queen mother:

Take a humble seat,

for your glorious crowns

have fallen from your heads.

19 The cities of the Negev are under siege;

no one can help them.

All of Judah has been taken into exile,

taken completely into exile.

20 Look up and see

those coming from the north.

Where is the flock entrusted to you,

the sheep that were your pride?

The Destiny of Jerusalem

21 What will you say when He appoints

close friends as leaders over you,

ones you yourself trained?

Won’t labor pains seize you,

as they do a woman in labor?

22 And when you ask yourself,

“Why have these things happened to me? ”

It is because of your great guilt

that your skirts have been stripped off,

your body exposed.

23 Can the Cushite change his skin,

or a leopard his spots?

If so, you might be able to do what is good,

you who are instructed in evil.

24 I will scatter youlike drifting chaff

before the desert wind.

25 This is your lot,

what I have decreed for you —

this is theLord’s declaration —

because you have forgotten Me

and trusted in Falsehood.

26 I will pull your skirts up over your face

so that your shame might be seen.

27 Your adulteries and your lustful neighing,

your heinous prostitution

on the hills, in the fields —

I have seen your detestable acts.

Woe to you, Jerusalem!

You are unclean —

for how long yet?

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/13-472678006e67fe775842cf2ceeeeef8a.mp3?version_id=72—

The Drought

1 The word of theLordthat came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

2 Judah mourns;

her gates languish.

Her people are on the ground in mourning;

Jerusalem’s cry rises up.

3 Their nobles send their servantsfor water.

They go to the cisterns;

they find no water;

their containers return empty.

They are ashamed and humiliated;

they cover their heads.

4 The ground is cracked

since no rain has fallen on the land.

The farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

5 Even the doe in the field

gives birth and abandons her fawn

since there is no grass.

6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights

panting for air like jackals.

Their eyes fail

because there are no green plants.

7 Though our guilt testifies against us,

Yahweh, act for Your name’s sake.

Indeed, our rebellionsare many;

we have sinned against You.

8 Hope of Israel,

its Savior in time of distress,

why are You like a foreigner in the land,

like a traveler stopping only for the night?

9 Why are You like a helpless man,

like a warrior unable to save?

Yet You are among us, Yahweh,

and we are called by Your name.

Don’t leave us!

10 This is what theLordsays concerning these people:

Truly they love to wander;

they never rest their feet.

So theLorddoes not accept them.

Now He will remember their guilt

and punish their sins.

False Prophets to be Punished

11 Then theLordsaid to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of these people.

12 If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague.”

13 And I replied, “Oh no, LordGod! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won’t see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you true peace in this place.’ ”

14 But theLordsaid to me, “These prophets are prophesying a lie in My name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceitof their own minds.

15 “Therefore, this is what theLordsays concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, though I did not send them, and who say, ‘There will never be sword or famine in this land.’ By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end.

16 The people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them— they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them.”

Jeremiah’s Request

17 You are to speak this word to them:

Let my eyes overflow with tears;

day and night may they not stop,

for the virgin daughter of my people

has been destroyed by a great disaster,

an extremely severe wound.

18 If I go out to the field,

look — those slain by the sword!

If I enter the city,

look — those illfrom famine!

For both prophet and priest

travel to a land they do not know.

19 Have You completely rejected Judah?

Do You detestZion?

Why do You strike us

with no hope of healing for us?

We hoped for peace,

but there was nothing good;

for a time of healing,

but there was only terror.

20 We acknowledge our wickedness,Lord,

the guilt of our fathers;

indeed, we have sinned against You.

21 Because of Your name, don’t despise us.

Don’t disdain Your glorious throne.

Remember Your covenantwith us;

do not break it.

22 Can any of the worthless idols of the nationsbring rain?

Or can the skies alone give showers?

Are You not theLordour God?

We therefore put our hope in You,

for You have done all these things.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/14-5e1b7aaaf05b8fa0dc1b9c3c94a8effb.mp3?version_id=72—

The Lord’s Negative Response

1 Then theLordsaid to me: “Even ifMoses andSamuel shouldstand before Me,My compassions would not reach out to these people. Send them from My presence, and let them go.

2 If they ask you, ‘Where will we go?’ you must tell them: This is what theLordsays:

Those destined for death,to death;

those destined for the sword, to the sword.

Those destined for famine, to famine;

those destined for captivity, to captivity.

3 “I will ordain four kindsof judgment for them” — this is theLord’s declaration — “the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away,and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the landto devour and destroy.

4 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manassehson of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

5 Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem?

Who will show sympathy toward you?

Who will turn aside

to ask about your welfare?

6 You have left Me.

This is theLord’s declaration.

You have turned your back,

so I have stretched out My hand against you

and destroyed you.

I am tiredof showing compassion.

7 I scattered them with a winnowing fork

at the gates of the land.

I made them childless; I destroyed My people.

They would not turn from their ways.

8 I made their widows more numerous

than the sand of the seas.

I brought a destroyer at noon

against the mother of young men.

I suddenly released on her

agitation and terrors.

9 The mother of seven grew faint;

she breathed her last breath.

Her sun set while it was still day;

she was ashamed and humiliated.

The rest of them I will give over to the sword

in the presence of their enemies.”

This is theLord’s declaration.

Jeremiah’s Complaint

10 Woe is me, my mother,

that you gave birth to me,

a man who incites dispute and conflict

in all the land.

I did not lend or borrow,

yet everyone curses me.

The Lord’s Response

11 TheLordsaid:

I will certainly set you free and care for you.

I will certainly intercede for you

in a time of trouble,

in your time of distress, with the enemy.

12 Can anyone smash iron,

iron from the north, or bronze?

13 I will give up your wealth

and your treasures as plunder,

without cost,for all your sins

in all your borders.

14 Then I will make you serve your enemies

in a land you do not know,

for My anger will kindle a fire

that will burn against you.

Jeremiah’s Prayer for Vengeance

15 You know,Lord;

remember me and take note of me.

Avenge me against my persecutors.

In Your patience,don’t take me away.

Know that I suffer disgrace for Your honor.

16 Your words were found, and I ate them.

Your words became a delight to me

and the joy of my heart,

for I am called by Your name,

Yahweh God of Hosts.

17 I never sat with the band of revelers,

and I did not celebrate with them.

Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone,

for You filled me with indignation.

18 Why has my pain become unending,

my wound incurable,

refusing to be healed?

You truly have become like a mirage to me —

water that is not reliable.

Jeremiah Told to Repent

19 Therefore, this is what theLordsays:

If you return, I will restore you;

you will stand in My presence.

And if you speak noble words,

rather than worthless ones,

you will be My spokesman.

It is they who must return to you;

you must not return to them.

20 Then I will make you a fortified wall of bronze

to this people.

They will fight against you

but will not overcome you,

for I am with you

to save you and deliver you.

This is theLord’s declaration.

21 I will deliver you from the power of evil people

and redeem you from the control of the ruthless.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/15-08bd4d6360967e144c7a4d6bfa304ed5.mp3?version_id=72—